Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake

You know when you travel somewhere and everything about the place you visited infects your thinking? And everything reminds you of your travels? Or is that just me? Either way, I went to Ireland just a few weeks ago and had the absolute time of my life exploring the country, eating all the delicious food, and of course enjoying one of Ireland's greatest sources of pride - Guinness! While in Dublin, I (like all of the other tourists), reluctantly visited the Guinness Storehouse towards the end of my trip. I had not gone earlier, thinking that such a tour was "too touristy" for the likes of me. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Guinness Storehouse tour was so very well done, interesting, and entertaining! And of course, you got to end a fresh pint of Guinness with a beautiful 360 degree view of Dublin at the end.

My first weekend home from Ireland, I was craving the pubs and the music and a pint of Guinness so when it came to deciding what I would bake for the blog, this Guinness cake was a no brainer. The ingredients are basic enough, but somehow they combined to create a cake with just the right amount of moisture and rich, chocolatey flavor. 

Definitely be on the lookout for more posts about my travels in Ireland, but in the meantime, please, PLEASE make this Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake just as soon as you possibly can! 

Chocolate and Guinness

A delicious pair!

Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup full-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup Guinness

For chocolate ganache:

• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup hot heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with baking spray, preferably the kind with flour in it. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cocoa powder until combined; mixture may be a little lumpy. Beat in the sugar until combined, followed by the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat in the sour cream, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add in one cup of the flour, mixing well, followed by ½ cup of Guinness. Repeat, beating on low speed, until combined and smooth.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely in the pan before inverting on a wire rack.
4. In a medium bowl, pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Let set for about 5 minutes, then gently stir until smooth and glossy. Pour the ganache evenly over the cake and let set, about 10 minutes, before cutting into slices.